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Klaus Kinski, José Lewgoy, Miguel Ángel Fuentes, Paul Hittscher, Claudia Cardinale ... see more see more... , Huerequeque Enrique Bohorquez , Peter Berling , Salvador Godinez , Bill Rose , Leoncio Bueno , Jean-Claude Dreyfus , David Perez Espinosa , Dimiter Petkov , Rui Polonah , Grande Otelo , Milton Nascimento

German filmmaker Werner Herzog has never done anything by halves. When Herzog tackled Fitzcarraldo, the story of an obsessed impresario (Klaus Kinski) whose foremost desire in life is to bring both En... read more read more...rico Caruso and an opera house to the deepest jungles of South America, the director boldly embarked on the same journey, disdaining studios, process shots, and special effects throughout. The highlight of the story is Fizcarraldo's Herculean effort to haul a 300-plus ton steamship over the mountains. No trickery was used in filming this grueling sequence, and stories still persist of disgruntled South American film technicians awaiting the opportunity to strangle Herzog if he ever sets foot on their land again. In the end, Herzog proved to be as driven and single-purposed as his protagonist, and it is the audience's knowledge of this that adds to the excitement of Fitzcarraldo. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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92% liked it

11,711 ratings

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83% liked it

23 critics

PG, 2 hr. 37 min.

Directed by: Werner Herzog

Release Date: March 4, 1982

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DVD Release Date: November 16, 1999

Stats: 914 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (914)

  • axadntpron
    August 24, 2011
    axadntpron
    This film is exhausting to watch due to it's immense scale. Herzog, much like the character that Kinski portrays, must have been absolutely mad when creating a film of this magnitude. While it is not the most exciting film to watch, it is certainly worth the experience. Heck, whe... read moren is a Herzog/Kinski collaboration not worth your time?
  • flixsterman
    November 14, 2009
    flixsterman
    I'm in awe of the amount of time and effort that it must have taken to make this film possible. It is man against nature on the grandest of scales. A contrast of lace and mud. Fitzcarraldo is a study of the line between modern society and the last outposts of frontier. ... read more The story of a man who dreams of bringing opera to the jungles of South America. I'm not sure if I understand director Werner Herzog's motivation but I certainly admire his stamina.
  • SirPant
    October 1, 2009
    SirPant
    An amazing achievement and an amazing story, and that's just what happened behind the camera. This is not my favourite Herzog film, in fact, I'm more interested in the making of the film than the film itself, but that said, it?s still one of the greatest films ever made!
  • cosmo313
    July 13, 2009
    cosmo313
    This is art. This is visual lyric poetry. This is a protrait of desire, obsession, passion at its best. This is not a flawless or perfect film though. It is maybe just too long, too meandering at times, but even then, there is no denying that this fim exists on a plane all its ow... read moren. There are no directors that can be compared to Herzog. Terrence Malick, maybe. But even then, Herzog is truly one of a kind. Kinski is brilliant- a little more restrained than I anticipated, but still very driven and determined to make his dreams come true nonetheless. It's a pity films are not, and will not ever be made like this again, but one could only hope that, even if they can't reach the same level as Herzog, they could still try.
  • ebs90
    January 16, 2009
    ebs90
    I was finally able to watch Fitzcarraldo! And it didn't disappoint me at all in spite of my very high expectations.
    All in all this is one of those epic movies made by visionaries that come only once in a blue moon.
    Brian Sweeny Fitzgerald is a railroad builder in Iquitos, a ... read morePeruvian town of multimillionaire rubber producers. His dream is to build a majestic Opera House there, and for Caruso and Sarah Bernhardt to sing on the opening night. Unfortunately, the railroad business is not too prosperous and since he cannot find any investors he must find an unoccupied portion of nearby jungle to start producing his own rubber and collect some funds for his dream.

    The task is not as easy as it seems... there's a reason why those lands remain unexploited, but i won't give the whole thing away :) just keep in mind it all involves dragging a ship up a hill from one river to another.

    Everything about Fitzcarraldo is grandieuse and mad. Werner Herzog actually built 3 real ships to shoot the movie, and actually dragged one of them over the hills. So who's madder, Fitzcarraldo or Herzog?
    There's something empowering and exciting about this determined man playing Rigoletto into the Amazonian jungle, and conducting the work of more than a hundred Indians ever impeccable in his white suit and hat. Klaus Kinski is as usual incredible as Fitzcarraldo. He goes from being gentle and meditative into obsessive frenzies with a single change of his facial expression. Claudia Cardinale is also very good although she doesn't have a lot of screen time. I loved the rest of the supporting cast as much as ever in Herzog's movies... people who seemed like they could have actually been the crew of this insane voyage. Herzog also relied on real Indians, not people dressed up with feathers in their hair. It feels like a documentary when it doesn't display scenes of odd and pure cinematic beauty.

    Fitzcarraldo is one of those movies that puts stuff like the remake of the Poseidon or Titanic to shame. It's audacious, bizarre, and skillfully made. It alternates between the hilarious and the pathetic with taste. Annd although I prefer "Aguirre" in the category of movies made by Werner Herzog in the Amazon Rain Forest (Kinski's performance is just plain frightening - and I like to be frightened in a healthy way), it shouldn't be missed. A breath of fresh air -courage, authenticity, and bullshit-free eccentricity.
  • harrycaul
    October 30, 2008
    harrycaul
    Klaus Kinski, Werner Herzog, a boat, the Amazon and a tale of epic folly. Hmmm...sounds familiar! To a certain extent Herzog is revisiting a past glory here, but comparing and contrasting Fitzcarraldo with Aguirre: Wrath of God is one of the great pleasures of watch... read moreing the movie. Fitzcarraldo, the character, more closely resembles Aguirre's Brother Gaspar de Carvajal than the megalomaniacal conquistador himself; yes, he is desperate for wealth, but only as a means to a philanthropic end: to bring opera to the masses. He's a dreamer who has discovered something wonderful and just has an overwhelming desire to share it; Fitzcarraldo is really a missionary, the secular equivalent of de Carvajal, only more zealous and totally incorruptible.

    Obviously the highlight of the film is the passage of Fitzcarraldo's steamboat, Molly-Aida, over the mountain, during which Herzog fascinatingly blurs the line between documentary and narrative filmmaking, to the extent where, as one who hasn't seen it, I begin to wonder whether he hasn't effectively rendered Les Blank's companion documentary, loftily entitled Burden of Dreams, at least partly redundant.

    Did Herzog have Once Upon a Time in the West in mind when casting Fitzcarraldo? There are certainly echoes of Jill McBain in Molly, the character Claudia Cardinale plays in the film: the prostitute lover of a visionary Irish dreamer. Interesting, too, that Jason Robards, Cardinale's OUATITW co-star, was originally cast as the lead here. Coincidence?
  • RCCLBC
    June 25, 2008
    RCCLBC
    I must say that this is quite an epic story and the fact that it is based on actual events (al beit loosely) is pretty amazing.

    I think what is most impressive is the fact that (with the exception of one model shot) most of this film was made in the traditional way, by using a... read morectual props, locations, etc.

    While it wasn't as good as I had hoped, it was still an impressive engossing film with a strong cast. And NO ONE does "crazed eccentric" like Klaus Kinski.

    I've heard many people say that the film is "too long" and my first response might be to agree. But then when I think about it, I believe the length of some of the scenes are essential in helping to establish the essence of this grueling, dangerous and passionate undertaking.

    I'm intrigued to know more about the real story now and to see the documentary (Burden Of Dreams) about the making of this film.
  • kenstachnik
    July 10, 2007
    kenstachnik
    One of the best movies I have ever seen... a true masterpieces of ambition and obsession...
  • pier007
    June 27, 2007
    pier007
    Herzog's masterpiece. a deep touching, and bittersweet story of blind hope through the amazon river. phenomenal Klaus Kinski playing an enterprising man with an enormous love for the opera.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    February 25, 2007
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Herzog in a very defining moment. You just can't help to respect a director that takes the risk to pull a real boat trough the jungle while risking the lives of the whole crew. Only because he didn't wanted to trick the audiences with special effects.

    Kinski's performance is g... read morereat as usual, and even quite relaxed, which is a bit ironic considering his behaviour off-screen at that time was the total opposite.
    The ammount of anecdotic material surrounding this film is so big it almost eclipses the movie itself, and yet Herzog manages to pull it. Just like the main character of the film, Herzog went on to pursuit his dream of making the film the way he wanted.

    Because of that, Fitzcarraldo is a unique cinematic experience. Even for pure filming curiosity anyone with a certain interest in cinema should watch this.

View All Fitzcarraldo Reviews

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr
February 9, 2007
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

The film may have been intended as an ironic comment on the absurdity of human ambition, but it's an irony that explodes in Herzog's face. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

As a document of a quest and a dream, and as the record of man's audacity and foolish, visionary heroism, there has never been another movie like it. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

It's a stunning spectacle, an adventure-comedy not quite like any other, and the most benign movie ever made about 19th-century capitalism running amok. Full Review

Pablo Villaca
January 26, 2010
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena

A abordagem de imersão adotada por Herzog, somada à performance intensa de Kinski, resulta numa experiência única e inesquecível.

Jay Antani
August 24, 2006
Jay Antani, Cinema Writer

Awesome, hypnotic storytelling, Fitzcarraldo finds this director working in top form Full Review

Ryan Cracknell
July 24, 2006
Ryan Cracknell, Movie Views

If you have a dream, the only way to accomplish it is to face it head on. If your dream requires you to drag a massive boat up a mountainside, do it. So says director Werner Herzog in the bizarre but ... Full Review

Christopher Null
October 7, 2003
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

If there's a point to this, it's what Herzog's point always is: That obsession can drive you nuts. I'm not sure I needed a freaky German traipsing through the jungle for 2 1/2 hours to drive that poin... Full Review

Rumsey Taylor
June 14, 2003
Rumsey Taylor, Slant Magazine

Fitzcarraldo is a more objective record of a comparable fever dream, and as such is the preeminent testament of Herzog's labor as a filmmaker. Full Review

Scott Weinberg
July 25, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

There's some pretty staggering stuff here.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
January 17, 2002
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

A mesmerizing and engaging work of art about the adventures of a wild-eyed Irish dreamer in the exotic jungle world of the upper Amazon. Full Review

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Fitzcarraldo Trivia

  • Which director links the movies "Aguirre, the Wrath of God", "Heart of Glass", "Grizzly Man", "Fitzcarraldo", "Signs of Life" (1968) and will release "Rescue Dawn" -with Christian Bale- later in 2007?  Answer »
  • Werner Herzog was the subject of a documentary called "Burden of Dreams" for his directing of what film? Clue: it was originally going to star Mick Jagger and Jack Nicholson.  Answer »
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